Why the “silver economy” is the future of work

Hello, please let it work.

I’m back from Do Lectures in Wales. Have you heard of it? At Do, we will spend three nights at the farms of founders David and Clare Hieatt for three nights at a camp of 100 participants (some luxury) and listen to lectures (Ted, more souls, and the barn). You eat, sleep, drink, drink and drink with strangers from all over the world. It’s about doing business and doing life differently. Putting tenderness in mind and taking care of the planet and human connection first.

I don’t think I’ve got as much as a few fellow campers over the weekend. (I didn’t think it would be “life-changing.”?) But that experience taught me a lot about hearing other people’s stories and breaking our society and work out of the “bubbles.” I also found time to meet people who were inspiring and reflect on me. Are you interested? I’ll be back in 2027.

Covid-19 sent workers home five years ago, and for a lifetime. And in office therapy, experts advise readers who are responsive to watch their colleagues.

I love getting emails about everything related to my work, from insights to workplace AI disruptions in earthquakes to workplace disruptions.

Q: What was the lasting impact of Covid on your work? 😷

A: OK, for the boomer

When millions of people were sent home, fired or fired in 2020, some sectors were attacked more than others. In the US, leisure and hospitality account for 11% of the job market, but took 40% of the losses during the pandemic. Overall, the low-skills and the consumer job market was the most affected. Five years later, the effects are still rippling through the labor market, and it is changing forever.

During the pandemic, I spoke to Nera Richardson, the chief economist at ADP, a huge US salary data company. Nella was a guest on the working IT podcast at the time, and met in person in London this week to talk about some of the post-pandemic trends she is seeing in the US workforce. The first low-skilled job description during the pandemic was followed by efforts to bring back these workers in 2021 and 2022. But as Nera said, “The United States paid temporary fired workers.” In many cases, there was no financial incentive to go back to work. “And that meant that the employers were offering bonuses, and they increased their salaries significantly just to bring people back.”

Nella proceeded as follows: “So, initially there was this push and pull based on the cohort effect during work recovery. But there were some things I think would have a lasting effect. There was the increase in young people who appeared in the labour market. There was a full increase in young people in the labour market. Before the pandemic, wage growth was flat. Currently, Nella said the average wage growth is around 2.5%. “That’s the punchline. Wages are stable, but this level of increase.”

The second biggest post-pandemic trend is that these senior groups now behave differently (at the workplace! Nella says: “10,000 people turn 65 in the US every day, and the survey shows that more people have retired than expected during the pandemic. But I don’t think they’ve been forever.”

Nera and her team track what US workers are doing, known as the “silver economy.” “One of the benefits of what I have experienced over the past five years is that it is easier to stay attached to an employer in a non-traditional way. Maybe I’ll retire and come back as a contractor.

Many seniors also set up their own businesses. Overall, the sole owner business is currently set at almost twice the pandemic rate, which is almost twice the US. “They are not set up to increase staffing. They are set up to provide services and income. It’s new and different. This is one channel among many people that older working adults can continue to work, but it’s a condition of its own.”

And the importance of work goes far beyond wage checks (of course). “This is not just a matter of income, but quality of life for many people.” It’s about the community, but as Nera called it, the benefits of “ripe-mature” are also the benefits of business. “That cohort still has a lot of expertise in the cohort that can be tapped for businesses and employers. Therefore, banking in the economy is also the future of work.” Take it, ai🥊. (Of course, we talked about AI. Nera’s view was optimistic. “We could see the results of AI producing work.”)

I also really like the term “ripe” to describe older workers. (I’m not going to add emojis for that reason.)

In short, older workers have been doing things differently since the pandemic, whether they’ve “not retired,” starting a new business, or returning to their previous employers as contractors.

Do you want more? Marketplace’s Age Of Work Podcast series features Nela Richardson and Host Kai Ryssdal, talking to people at the forefront of demographic change in the workplace. (Includes owners of honey shops in London’s Borough Market).

Office Therapy

Problem: I have a colleague who arrives at work at 9:30am and stands up at 5:28pm, 2 minutes for packaging and 5:30pm. At lunchtime, they take an entire hour – and no one gets in the way, even if they’re eating at their desks or at our office kitchen. When on WFH, they stop looking at email/slack at 5:30pm. No one is like this. We all do extra if necessary. This person troubles me with an unreasonable boiling point. Do I say something or did I watch it with a res?

Isabelle’s advice: My skin is recognized. Clock watching sees red at me. He turned to Gabriella Braun, a coach and consultant for the team and leaders. Gabriella suggested that resent among us be the first to think about why this behavior is beneath our skin. “For example, you might think, ‘Why am I so compliant?'”

We are angry with ourselves and unconsciously envious of this person’s “non-intervention” behavior. (You’ve probably seen Tiktok videos that suggest that workers should only do at least for their employers – alias “quiet quit” or “task masking.”)

Gabriella said: “The other thing is trying to incite dialogue. I think it’s completely fair to have an hour to lunch, but I think it’s very difficult. Can you have a conversation?” If I could explain to this colleague why their actions bother you so much, Gabriella told me, “Some of their actions are very provocative, more provocative than they perceive and seem rude.”

There is no clear solution as your colleagues have actually done nothing wrong. “But there is another view, there is an understanding of these actions.” If you can increase your understanding – on both sides – you have won that you have won.

Five Top Stories from the World of Work

The UK targets office bullies, cover-up: Financial Conduct Authorities are expanding rules on “non-financial fraud” beyond banks to 37,000 other financial services groups that will be regulated since September 2026.

“It’s strength”: The moment Buck Reeves’ tears of a female business leader, there’s a lot of support from the top business women of British Prime Minister Rachel Reeves who recently cried in Parliament. George Parker and Ashley Armstrong Report.

“Truthness” and why people love good stories: The recent revelation of the real events behind Raynor Wynn’s SaltPath memoir (real name Sally Walker) shows how much people want to believe in good stories, and how contradictory we are about the truth. Emma Jacobs doesn’t solve this fascinating topic.

Sympathy for AI Employment Tsunami policymakers: Sarah O’Connor looks Sweden when AI waits for which jobs to exchange and what sectors will emerge.

New Age of Geoeconomics: This FT Weekend essay by Icymi, Gillian Tett is a great introduction to the new world where domestic politics and geopolitics have a major impact on business and commerce. The 1990 word, “geoeconomics,” was revived to explain this change.

One more thing.

We’re all tired of hearing about CEO/Techbro’s “morning routine” and the 4am riser. But looking beyond that, there is an entirely new early morning world emerging, with great opportunities for business. This week’s “Huh, Interesting” read is Monocle’s new morning economy. CEOs aren’t the only ones who benefit from Dawn’s crack. Author James Chambers talks to scholars and business people about Australia’s “morning economy” where Sydney rings the cafe at 6:30am. The government is beginning to attract attention: as our habits change (less people drink alcohol and “optimize sleep” to go to bed earlier), this may become a major trend worldwide. “That’s an undeveloped part of the day,” as Melbourne academic Anna Edwards points out.

giveaway of this week’s book📘

Resurgent by Julian Birkinshaw and John Fallon caught my eye, especially as John was once the CEO of Pearson, the former parent company of FT. He is currently a professor of practice at Northeastern University, and Julian is the dean of the Ivy Business School. The subtitle of Resurgent is brilliantly clear: “How an organization established in the age of digital transformation can fight back and thrive.” This book is a cheaper and simpler way to access that expertise, as it originated from a course the pair created about leading digital transformation at the London Business School. We provide 10 copies to working IT leaders. To fill out, please submit this form by 5pm on Friday, July 18th.

View from the working IT community 📸

This offers views boasting Aesha Ali’s attractions from her office near the south bank of the Thames River in London. Ayesha is a public health medicine consultant at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital and works in this office and in the main hospital. She said: “It’s a great privilege to have Big Ben as a watch (much better than a phone) and see your eyes slowly spin.”

Ayesha receives the “Lucky Dip” of her new workplace and management book. Whether it’s a grand from your workplace, workation or home office, please send us your opinion: isabel.berwick@ft.com.